Tinijocaro, I was wondering if anyone would "get" that!
99 out of 100 times a kid pulled out of classes is only affecting themselves.
Sure it does. If I'm spending my time catching kids up after absences, I'm taking time away from the rest of the class. And you'd be amazed just how much of my time is wasted on this task! And, no, simply not doing it and saying, "Oh, he should do it on his own" is not acceptable -- it won't happen.
Just for the record, how many absences do you suspect a typical high school teacher records in her grade book? On a GOOD WEEK I'll have only 18 or 20 absences between my three classes. So every day I spend time working with the kids who missed class, providing them with make-up work (often reworking it into a form that's possible to do individually instead of in class with discussion, etc.). Then I spend time working with these kids during my planning period or after school; sometimes they need help because they've missed material, sometimes they need to make up tests or quizzes. But a LARGE portion of my time goes to working with kids who are absent. That certainly takes away from my time to plan for tomorrow's lesson -- so it's grossly incorrect to say that an absence hurts only the absent child.
Yes, because the student is not being paid to be at school.
All compensation doesn't come in the form of a paycheck. Kids are "being paid" in credits as the work towards a diploma. They're "being paid" in information, which will last them a lifetime and allow them to support themselves and their families. Please don't belittle the value of the education these children are earning!
When she took her 10 day trip in Oct., she was supposed to keep a journal but didn't. I have had kids go away for long vacations and not turn in the journal and not have much to say about their trip. A few years ago, I had one student go to S. Korea for 3 weeks. All she said was that the plane trip was long and she stayed at her Aunt's house and they didn't go anywhere or do anything. Nobody wrote in her journal (after all, if you truly did nothing, how much could you write?), did not bring anything in, so much for that. It was disappointing b/c what could've been a wonderful opportunity to see her native country, she didn't see anything but the airport and the inside of her aunt's house. You have to remember that not all vacations are going to be filled with learning experiences and opportunities to see unusual things. Not all parents are going to do those things for their children.
When kids go on vacation during the school year, it is VERY RARE that they actually do the make-up work that their parents request for them. IF it is done, it's usually done poorly, or the child comes back and requests an extension because he or she did nothing during the trip. It's disheartening for the teachers who put these things together -- usually after hours on their own time.
And there's another problem that people outside the school system don't seem to grasp: The state gives us a list of things that MUST be taught during our courses. No matter how important or educational the trip, we can't just say, "Oh, write up a journal, and that'll be enough." The child missed a lesson on ____ during the vacation, and that information's going to be on the end-of-course test. The lesson on _____ must be made up! The journal may take the place of some small daily lessons, but it's unfair to the kid NOT to teach him everything on the state course of study.
I stand by my opinion that there is a large difference between being a student and being a teacher.
This is a key point, which many people seem to miss! It's foolish to say that rules that are appropriate for students are also appropriate for teachers (or vice-versa). Yes, we share the same building, but we're there for different purposes!
My son's teacher (2nd grade) has been absent quite a bit this year. Her daughter got married, she was called for jury duty, sick days, dr. appointments...
This is just part of being human: some years my kids have been sick every few weeks, other years I've had perfect attendance. Things are never completely equal, and I don't think there's an answer -- none of the things you listed were "over the top", but they add up to a large number of days.
Sorry--I'm a little off this morning. Allergies. Dh works in Lake View; I work in Mullins (but I'm in the district office). It is a small world. (and now I have that song in my head again--and I always get it caught in there when I see anything dealing with that ride)
